KAILUA, HAWAII

ACTIVE YEARS EARLY 1983 - PRESENT

Erik “Merlin” Rusnak is a world-renown lure maker and offshore fishing specialist, best known as the founder of Aloha Lures. He has spent over four decades designing and producing high-performance trolling lures used by professional captains and serious anglers worldwide.

He first built his reputation under the name Merlin Bluewater Lures before establishing Aloha Lures, which has since become a well-known name in the custom trolling lure industry.

Rusnak is widely recognized as a pioneer in the use of polyurethane in trolling lure construction. By incorporating this material into his designs, he developed impact-resistant lure heads capable of withstanding hard strikes and repeated abuse, significantly improving durability and longevity.

Over the course of his career, Rusnak has earned recognition as both a skilled angler and a master lure craftsman. His lures have been used to catch numerous grander blue marlin (over 1,000 pounds) and are widely utilized in competitive offshore fishing.

Today, Erik “Merlin” Rusnak is regarded as a key figure in modern trolling lure design, and Aloha Lures remains a respected brand in the global sportfishing community.

We are proud to be a distributor of Aloha Lures, offering these proven, high-quality lures to anglers who demand performance and reliability on the water.

Notable Shapes: Super Ninja, The Machine, Beauty, Smash Bait, Gully Boy, Sundowner, Mongo, Kona Mongo, Dink

Below, you’ll find our ever-growing digital archive showcasing every lure that has come through our shop. This collection is constantly evolving as new lures arrive, making it a living record of rare, limited-production lures. We will continue updating this database regularly, building what we aim to be the largest digital archive of offshore trolling lures in the world.

If you have any further information or any lures you believe deserve to be showcased, please reach out to us at ren@luremonger.com